‘I’m not going to make this look like Hollywood,’” architect Peter Archer recalled telling his client.

It seems that everyone wants to live like a Hobbit these days. From pubs to chicken coops, Middle Earth architecture is sweeping the human realm. Vince Donovan, a Tolkien aficionado and collector, commissioned Pennsylvania firm Archer & Buchanan to create based on the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The architects began working on sketches for the house in 2004, synthesizing a number of artist’s interpretations to complete the design.

“I’m not going to make this look like Hollywood,” architect Peter Archer recalled telling his client. Wanting to make sure that the house appeared as part of the landscape with a sense of history and tradition, the House was crafted with a great attention to detail. Some of the House’s most impressive elements include a mahogany butterfly window, a 54” round cedar door with customized iron crescent hinge, and stone facade constructed from 18th century wall that was salvaged from around the property. Half walls and archways create a library off the main room with plenty of room for Donovan’s enormous treasure trove of books and figurines. The stucco fireplace and climate control system features air conditioning, and radiant heating underneath its pine floor. An old-world style fence made from branches circles the house, and the surrounding gardens were modeled after Old English landscapes.

“The house that Archer and Buchanan have designed and built was forged from a man’s passion for a book, for an icon of literature. That passion was turned into an indoor and outdoor space, which resonates with the surrounding environment just like those in Tolkien’s universe. If we continue to be inspired by such stories and imaginative creations that embrace nature as their main core,we might just help the ecological movement as well as the journey for a happier and more content life through complex relations to our natural elements.” said the creators of the Hobbit House.

Unfortunately, there is no bathroom or kitchen, so second breakfast and elevensies need to be taken in the main house. Snug and comfortable, the home would a welcoming sight after any great adventure.